Radiator recoring fixturing and tools

ABSTRACT

Fixturing for repair of automobile radiators is disclosed, usable for recoring of either brass or plastic tank radiators, including clamping gates providing parallel rails adjustably spaced to receive the radiator header with an air cylinder exerting clamping pressure on the tank top. The radiator sits atop the rails of a first set of clamping gates when resoldering conventional tanks and is recessed between the rails of a second set of clamping gates which are alternatively installed for decrimping and crimping of the header tabs of plastic tank radiators. Decrimping and crimping hand tools of special configuration are also disclosed, cooperating with the rails during use.

This is a division, of application Ser. No. 268,551, filed June 1, 1981now U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,414.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention concerns repair of automotive radiators and moreparticularly concerns fixturing and hand tools for recoring radiators.

In the course of repairing such radiators, a recoring is often found tobe necessary in which the tube-and-fin "core" of the radiator is removedfrom the top and bottom tanks. Conventional radiator constructionincludes a tank joined to the core by means of a header which receivesthe core tubes and forms the bottom of the tank when the tank is mountedwithin the header. The most common radiator construction currentlyemployed includes a brass tank which is soldered to the header and inrecoring the radiator, the soldered joint is loosened for removal of thetank, and upon recoring, the tank is placed into the header and thesolder connection rerun.

Recently there has developed a trend towards replacement of the brasstank with a plastic tank mechanically joined to the header. The plastictank is positioned against a gasket received in a header recess, a tankflange compressed against the gasket and secured in position with aseries of tabs formed integrally with the header, which are bent down toretain the tank compressed against the gasket.

Radiator repair shops have for the most part relied on impromptufixturing for conducting these operations.

Reassembly of the brass tank to the header has often involveddifficulties due to deformation of the tank bottom or slightirregularities in the header recess receiving the tank lip, such thatdegree of pressure is necessary in order to get the tank to properlyseat. In addition, there sometimes exists excessive clearance betweenthe tank lip and the header tank recess, in turn, resulting in a weakersolder joint. The handling of the disassembly and reassembly of the tankand radiator core and header is relatively difficult and slowscompletion of the recoring.

Plastic tank designs have presented their own peculiar problems inrecoring, particularly in crimping and decrimping of the tabs whileproperly insuring a seal of the tank bottom against the gasket and theheader.

The crimped tabs are difficult to loosen because they are often jammedtightly into the plastic tank flange, with minimal clearance between thetank side wall and the tab end, making it difficult to obtain insertionof a tool for decrimping. The compression of the tank against the gasketfurther aggravates the problem due to the tightness with which the tabsare forced against the tank flange.

To obtain a proper seal between the header and tank is also troublesomesince, if the header recess receiving the gasket is deformed, leakagewill often occur. Such deforming can be inflicted by the decrimpingoperation or the subsequent crimping operation due to pressure exertedby hand tools on the outer edge of the header.

In addition, the entire tank crimping and decrimping operations arerelatively time consuming, thereby increasing the cost of labor torecore.

Previous attempts at improving fixturing have generally not alleviatedthe time problem and involve relatively costly fixturing which has notsuccessfully speeded up the disassembly or assembly steps. It has alsonot satisfactorily handled the problem of insuring leak free connectionsfrom the tank to the header.

In addition, those in the radiator repair industry are faced with thetask of being prepared to repair efficiently both the conventional brasstank and the newer plastic tank radiator recoring.

Such plastic tanks are, in the United States, only now beginning to befound in numbers, but ultimately may account for the bulk of radiatorrepairs.

In the interim both types of radiators will necessarily need to beaccommodated. Such fixturing device being relatively costly, itrepresents a sizable capital investment for businesses having thelimited financial resources of a typical radiator repair shop, and it isimportant that any fixturing intended for that application be adaptableto both tank mounting styles.

The decrimping and crimping tools heretofore employed have either beenconventional hand tools such as vise grips pressed into service for thispurpose or have been specially designed pneumatic tools. In the case ofthe conventional hand tools, these do not efficiently perform thecrimping and decrimping operations and therefore require excessivelabor. The pneumatic tools, on the other hand, are relatively difficultto control and often apply excessive force to the tab due to a lack of"feel" associated with their manipulation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to providefixturing for recoring of radiators which is adaptable to bothconventional and plastic tank construction and which further isadaptable to the wide variety of radiator tank sizes and configurationsthat exist such that a simple universal fixture can be employed to beuseful in recoring radiators of all types.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such fixturingwhich greatly facilitates the recoring operation of both metal andplastic tank radiator construction.

It is still another object of the present invention to providedecrimping and crimping hand tools for use with the fixturing in orderto efficiently and rapidly conduct the crimping and decrimping stepsincidental to recoring of the plastic tanks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the present invention, which will becomeapparent upon a reading of the following specification and claims, areachieved by fixturing essentially consisting of first and second sets ofadjustably mounted rails which are of two differing configurations, oneeach adapted to conventional tank radiators and the other to the plastictank radiator construction, respectively. The rails are adapted toreceive the radiator header, with an air cylinder hold down arrangementadapted to exert pressure on the top of the tank in both theconventional and plastic tank applications. In the conventional tankconstruction, the rails are configured such that the radiator headersits atop each side rail, while in the plastic tank applicationconfiguration, a recess is provided with the header received thereintoto be roughly even with the top surface of the rails to provideprotection for the header seal channel and to cooperate with thecrimping and decrimping hand tools.

The pairs of rails are supported by pairs of pivoted arms downwardlyextending from a cross member to form clamping gates, swingably mountedfor movement toward and away from each other so as to be adjustable toradiator headers of varying widths. Mounted atop the cross member is anair cylinder having a downwardly extending operating rod to which ispinned a cross bar slidably receiving a pair of tee-shaped hold downelements, each of the hold down elements being slidably received on thecross bar via elongated openings accommodating tilting as well assliding movements thereof. Each of the hold down elements is adapted tobe positioned at longitudinally spaced points atop the radiator tankwhen the radiator is positioned on the rails to secure the radiator inposition.

The entire assembly of the rails, arms, cross member and air cylindermay be mounted for rotation by means of a bearing assembly to allow theradiator, when clamped in place, to be pivoted for ready access to theradiator from all sides by the repairman.

For this purpose, the assembly is mounted from above by a cantileveredbeam supported on an upstanding frame section adapted to support theradiator above the shop floor at a convenient height.

For conventional brass tanks, the header sits atop each of the rails andthe hold down elements are positioned to exert a pressure on the tanktop, upon actuation of the air cylinder, forcing the tank lower edge orlip into a receiving header recess. The air cylinder pressure exertedcauses the header lip to compress slightly about the edge to reduce theclearance space and improve the soldered connection.

In the plastic tank application, the first set of clamping gates arereplaced with a second set having rails formed with a shoulder recessextending along the adjacent sides and top thereof, which is adapted toreceive the header to place the tank flange roughly even with the top ofthe rails. The air cylinder and hold down fixtures compress the tankagainst the gasket and enable ready decrimping of the tabs forming apart of the header.

The decrimping tool which is employed preferably consists of a barsection with a handle at one end extending from one side of the section.The bar section is formed with a slot receiving a pivoted trigger rod.The opposite end of the bar section is formed with an oppositelyextending anchor block, having a through bore receiving a spring-loadedplunger with one end engaged with the trigger rod such as to be causedto be extended forwardly of the anchor block. The anchor block is alsoformed with an inclined mounting surface to which is mounted adownwardly extending hook finger. A knob is also mounted atop the anchorblock.

In use, the decrimping tool plunger is positioned against the rail, thehook finger in registry with the tab to be decrimped, the finger beinginserted behind the tab end and the tank side, held down with pressureon the knob. Squeezing of the trigger rod and extension of the plungerproduces outward pressure between the finger and the tab, and pivotingmovement of the decrimping tool enables ready bending upwardly of eachof the tabs.

The crimping tool consists of a handle-frame to which is joined anangled clevis, to which, in turn, is pivotally mounted a swing bar towhich is affixed a finger-lever including a rearwardly extending leverrod and a forwardly extending finger. A channel block is mounted acrossthe clevis ends and adapted to be positioned beneath the rails which arethereby positioned between the finger and the channel block. In use, thetool is positioned with the crimping finger in registry with a tab to becrimped, the lever rod manipulated downwardly while the handle is pulledupwardly to rotate the tool with respect to the rail and cause a neatrolling over of the tab into the crimped position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fixturing according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 1a is an enlarged, fragmentary and partially broken away view of aportion of the clamping fixturing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the clamping fixture with a conventionalradiator clamped in position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective fragmentary view of the fixturing shown in FIGS.1 and 2 with the radiator positioned therein for the making of the tankconnections;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the rail and radiatortank and header depicting the relationship of the tank, header and railconfiguration adapted for recoring of brass tank radiators;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the rail and hold downelements showing a plastic tank therein;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view through the side rail tank andheader illustrating the position of the plastic tank radiator installedin the fixturing according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of the decrimping tool utilized with the fixturingaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the decrimping tool of FIG. 7 shown inuse;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a crimping tool used with the fixturingaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the crimping tool shown in FIG. 9 inuse.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description certain specific terminology will beemployed, and specific embodiments described in accordance with therequirements of 35 USC 112 but it is to be understood that the same isnot intended to be limiting and indeed should not be so construedinasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variationswithin the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, the fixturing 10according to the present invention includes a clamping assembly 12suspended from a support frame 14 which includes a cantilevered beam 16extending outwardly from an upright framework adapted to be stablysupported on a shop floor surface by outriggers 20. The clampingassembly 12 in this embodiment is designed to be rotatably mounted, aswill be described herein, on the cantilevered beam 16 such as to enableready access to a radiator 22.

The clamping fixturing includes a support bracket 26 welded to a crossbeam 28. The support bracket 26 includes a top plate 30 and a collar 32integral with a trunnion shaft 34, and a retaining collar 36 acting tosuspend the clamping assembly 12 on a bearing assembly 24.

A suitable pneumatic swivel 38 (FIG. 1a) is provided allowing connectionof the pneumatic lines to the air cylinder 40.

The air cylinder 40 is mounted intermediate the sides of the supportbracket 26 as shown in FIG. 1 and atop the cross beam 28 with theactuating rod 42 extending through an opening in the cross beam 28 suchas to extend therebelow. Control means 44 are also mounted to thesupport bracket 26 enabling selective actuation of the air cylinder 40for up, down or neutral motion for control over movement of theactuating rod 42. The air cylinder 40 is supplied with air pressure viathe air line 46 connected to a suitable pressure gage 48 and regulator,filter and lubricator 50.

The clamping assembly 12 also includes a pair of clamping gates 51 and52 each swingably and detachably mounted on the cross beam 28 by pairsof downwardly extending arms 54 and 56 respectively pivoted on eitherend of the cross beam 28 with cap screws 58. Each of the clamping gates51 and 52 also includes parallel side rails 60 and 62, respectivelyconnected to the lower ends of the arms 54 and 56 by means of cap screwsor bolts 64. The adjacent surfaces of the side rails 60 and 62 aresquared off so as to insure that the header 76 edges will securely sitatop the side rails 60 and 62 evenly with radiator configurations havingonly limited overhand of the headers.

A clevis end 66 is also provided for the actuating rod 42, which, inturn, is pinned at 70 to a clamping bar 68 as shown in FIG. 2. Theclamping bar 68 has slidably disposed thereon a pair of hold downelements 72, each of which has an elongated opening 74 through which theclamping bar 68 passes and the elongation of which allows tiltingmovement, as best seen in FIG. 2, to accommodate the many variations ofsurface contours among differing models of radiators to be disposedtherein.

This provides an extremely efficient and adaptable clamping arrangementand does not require separate fixturing for each of the great number ofvariations in tank top contours.

In addition, the disposition of the radiator 22 between the side rails60 and 62, which are adjustably mounted for movement towards and awayfrom each other, allows for accommodation of the differing widths anddepths of radiators such as to constitute a "universal" fixturearrangement.

In order to secure the clamping gates 51 and 52 in adjusted positions, atoggle linkage 61 is pivotally mounted to each side rail 60 and 62, andpivotally mounted to each other with an adjustment bolt 63, tighteningof which will maintain an adjusted position. This enables adjustment ofthe positions to accommodate the various radiator widths such as tocorrectly position the top surface of each of the side rails 60 and 62in the case of usage for a conventional tank-header construction. Asbest been in FIG. 3, the lower edge 77 of the header 76 is positionedatop the rail 60. Thereafter, the control means 44 is actuated to causethe air cylinder 40 to be pressurized, forcing the hold down elements 72against the top of the tank.

In use, a new core and header is positioned between the side rails 60and 62, with the arms 54 and 56 swung into the correct position suchthat the header lower edge 77 sits atop either the side rail 60 or 62.The tank is positioned with the header lower edge 77 above the receivingrecess formed by the outer lip of the header 76, as shown.

The control means 44 is then actuated such that the air cylinder 40 ispressurized, forcing the hold down elements 72 to force the tank 78downward into the recess formed by the outer lip of the header 76. Thisovercomes any tendency for slight irregularities of contour to preventreinsertion of the tank 78, with the uniform pressure exerted by thearrangement tending to provide excellent seating.

The pressure also tends to draw the header and tank bottom edge intocloser juxtaposition, to reduce the clearance space and enable bettersolder connections to be made.

The level of air pressure is adjustable by means of the regulator 50.The soldered joint may conveniently be made from one side by rotation ofthe radiator in the fixture through 360° to greatly enhance theworkman's efficiency in executing this step. As seen in FIG. 4, thefixturing may also be advantageously employed to make the inlet andoutlet soldered connections, by positioning the radiator on its faceover the side rails 60 and 62 and actuating the air cylinder 40 to holdthe radiator securely.

It is noted that soldering flux is corrosive to aluminum but adhesion ofthe solder to the rails must be avoided in order that the header is notsoldered to the side rails 60 and 62. Thus, the side rails 60 and 62 arepreferably constructed of stainless steel.

For this same reason, the same rails 60 and 62 are not suitable for usewith both brass tank and plastic tank radiators, since the lattercommonly employ aluminum headers. Also, the recessed construction of therails to be employed for the plastic tanks, as will be described below,is not suitable for use with the soldered connection tanks.

In order to convert the fixturing to use with plastic tank radiators,the clamping gates 51 and 52 having the first set of side rails 60 and62 are replaced with a second set of rails 80 and 82 having recesses 81and 85 extending along their adjacent sides, such that the radiatorheader is disposed between the rails 80 and 82, and resting below thetop surface of the rails 80 and 82 to position the tank flange 90 andcrimped tabs 84 to be roughly even with the top surfaces 79a and 79b ofeach of the rails 80 and 82, respectively. The fixturing is utilizedboth for disassembly and assembly of the tank to the header and radiatorcore.

To disassemble, the tank 86 is engaged with the hold down elements 72and the air cylinder 40 actuated to create a downward pressure on thetank upper surface. This compresses the gasket 88 normally included inplastic tank designs and enables the tabs 84 which are in the crimpedposition to be more readily decrimped by relieving the pressure on thetabs 84 and producing clearance at the inside edge of the tab 84 andbetween the tank flange 90 and the undersurface of the tab. Thepositioning of the header seal channel 92 within the rail recesses 81and 85 with the pressure applied to the tank 86 insure that the tabs 84can be decrimped with minimal possiblities of producing deformation ordistortion of the header seal channel 92. In connection therewith, it isnoted that the radiator construction in such plastic tank radiatorsincludes a gasket 88 disposed within the header seal channel 92 andproper sealing thereof depends critically on the undistorted state ofthe header seal channel 92.

Decrimping is executed by a specially designed tool shown in FIGS. 7 and8. The decrimping tool 93 includes a tool frame consisting of anelongated generally rectangular-shaped aluminum bar section 94 having agripping handle 96 extending at right angles to one end of the barsection. Intermediate the length of the bar section 94 is a pivotallymounted trigger rod 98, having a lower trigger portion covered withsuitable grip and extending to be juxtaposed to the handle 96. Thetrigger rod 98 is received within an elongated slot 100 formed in thebar section 94 such as to accommodate pivoting movement thereof with anupper actuating portion 102 protruding above the top surface of the barsection opposite the handle 96. The bar section 94 at the opposite endfrom the handle 96 has welded thereto an anchor block 104 which isformed with a through bore receiving a spring loaded plunger 106 havingone end disposed adjacent to the actuating portion 102 of the triggerrod 98, the opposite end protruding through the anchor block 104.

The anchor block 104 mounts knob 110 secured with a stud 108 threadablyreceived in the upper surface of the anchor block 104. The anchor block104 also has a mounting surface 112 inclined slightly to the plunger 106axis which serves to anchor a pry finger 114 of hardened steel andhaving a sharp projecting rounded end 116 extending towards the plunger106 end projecting through the anchor block 104.

In use, the air cylinder 40 is pressurized after placing the radiator inthe fixturing to compress the gasket. As shown in FIG. 8, the usergrasps the handle 96 and applies downward pressure on the knob 110, withthe nose being in registry behind the tab 84 to be described. When thetrigger rod 98 is squeezed, this forces the projecting end of theplunger 106 against the rail 80 or 82 producing a contact pressuretherebetween, such that downward tilting of the tool 93 causes quick andefficient decrimping.

Since the header is completely recessed within the recess 81 or 85,there is no possiblity of distortion of the header seal channel 92.After decrimping, the tool 93 is simply successively moved along to thenext tab 84 to continue the operation until all the side located tabs 84are decrimped. The ends tabs 84 are decrimped with conventional handtools. The tank 86 is then lifted free for the recoring operation,including replacement of the gasket 88.

The header seal channel 92 may also be trued while positioned within therails 80 and 82 while resting in the fixturing by merely tooling theinterior of the header seal channel 92, if any distortion has takenplace.

The fixturing is also used to great advantage in reassembling the tankto the header and core by placing the tank 86 atop the gasket 88 andreactivating the air cylinder 40 to apply a uniform compression of thetank 86 on the gasket 88 prior to recrimping of the tabs 84.

Recrimping of the tabs 84 is achieved by the use of a special crimpingtool 118 also designed to cooperate with the rails 80 and 82 as depictedin FIGS. 9 and 10. The crimping tool 118 consists of a handle rod frame120 welded to an angled clevis 122, the rod 120 forming a handle with ahand grip 124 mounted thereto. The clevis 122 mounts a pivot bar 126disposed between the two clevis ends 128 with a shoulder screw 130 beingprovided to provide the pivotal mounts.

A channel block 132 is provided and secured with cap screws 134 acrossthe clevis ends 128 having a channel groove 133 configured to receivethe lower surface of the rails 80 or 82. On the upper end of the pivotbar 126 there is mounted a lever arm 136 consisting of a handle rod 138having a ball grip 140 at one end. A tool steel crimping bar 142 ismounted, by means of a cap screw 144, to the pivot bar 126 such as toform a connected assembly. The crimping bar 142 includes a wedge shapednose section 146 extending away from the pivot bar 126 in the samedirection as the channel block 132 such as to enable straddling eitherof the support rails 80 or 82 therebetween.

For crimping, the air cylinder 40 is again pressurized with the tank andradiator in place to compress the gasket 88. As shown in FIG. 9, therepairman grasps the handle 124 of the crimping tool 118 with his righthand and positions the tool wiih the block 132 in with the nose section146 in registry with a tab to be crimped. Upward pressure exerted on thelever arm 136 and downward pressure on the handle 124 with simultaneousupward rotation of the entire tool enables ready crimping of each tab84. The end tabs are crimped with pliers or vise grips.

The imposition of a uniform pressure by the air cylinder and holderelements insures proper sealing engagement with the tank flange 90 andthe seal channel during the crimping operation such that a reliable sealis obtained.

The radiator may be readily rotated facilitating the crimping of all thetabs about the periphery of the header.

It can be appreciated that the fixturing is readily adaptable to a greatadvantage in recoring both conventional tanks and plastic crimped tankconstruction, with the substitution of the rails configured for eachapplication, and use of hand tools designed to cooperate with thespecially configured rails. It has been found in practice that theseoperations are conducted very efficiently and effectively through theuse of this equipment, which relatively simply configured, rugged inconstruction, highly reliable, and suitable for usage in repair shopsover an extended service life.

It can also be appreciated that the fixturing may be configured in asimplified and many alternate forms, if desired, such as by eliminatingthe rotational mount of of the clamping fixturing.

What is claimed as novel is as follows:
 1. A decrimping tool for use incrimping tabs of automotive radiators of the type including a radiatorcore, a header secured to said radiator core, and a tank joined to saidheader by a series of tabs bent over a radiator tank flange, said tabsin the crimped position extending immediately adjacent a radiator tankside wall extending generally normally to said radiator tank flange,said decrimping tool comprising a tool frame including an elongated barsection, a handle extending generally transversely from one side of saidelongated bar section and an oppositely extending anchor block adjacentto the opposite end of said bar section, a spring loaded plungerslidably mounted within the lower region of said anchor block, saidspring loaded plunger extending generally parallel to said bar sectionand adapted to protrude from either side of said anchor block, a triggerrod pivotally mounted to said bar section having a lower portionextending in the same general direction as said handle and adjacentthereto to enable simultaneous gripping of said handle and squeezing ofsaid lower portion of said trigger rod, said trigger rod including anengagement portion extending adjacent one end of said spring loadedplunger to be extended upon compression thereof by pivoting movement ofsaid trigger rod beyond said opposite end of said bar section; a fingerextending reversely from said anchor block towards said plunger endprotruding away from said opposite end of said bar section and a knobmounted atop said anchor block enabling a downward pressure to beexerted on said finger; whereby said decrimping tool may enabledecrimping of said tabs by positioning said finger behind and inregistry with a crimped tab, exerting downward pressure on said knob andsqueezing of said trigger rod to force said finger laterally away todecrimp said tab.
 2. The decrimping tool according to claim 1 whereinsaid bar section is formed with an intermediate slot and wherein saidtrigger rod is pivotally mounted extending through said slot with saidlower portion disposed extending toward said handle, said engagementportion extending away from said bar section from the opposite sidethereof.
 3. The decrimping tool according to claim 1 wherein said anchorblock includes a mounting surface extending slightly inclined to thelengthwise direction of said bar section and further wherein said fingeris formed of tool steel, and means mounting said finger to said inclinedmounting surface.
 4. A crimping tool for crimping tabs on automotiveradiators of the type including a radiator core and a radiator headerhaving tabs formed about the periphery thereof adapted to be crimped toretain a radiator tank having flange portions, said crimping tooladapted to be utilized with said radiator tank with a fixturing, saidfixturing including a rail having a recess to dispose said radiatorheader below the upper surface of said rail with said tabs extendingupwardly therefrom, said crimping tool comprising a handle frame; aclevis connected to said handle frame and extending therefrom; a channelblock mounted to project from said clevis and engageable with a loweredge of said rail; a pivot bar extending away from said handle frame andclevis and pivotally mounted for swinging movement above said channelblock; a lever rod connected to said support bar and having a gripportion extending away from said channel block and a crimping noseportion extending in the same direction as said channel block to definea space therebetween between which said rail may be received wherebysaid channel block may be disposed beneath said rail with said crimpingnose in registry with a tab to be crimped, and manipulation of saidlever rod and handle frame enabling crimping of said tab downwardly intoengagement with said flange portion of said radiator tank.
 5. Thecrimping tool according to claim 4 wherein said handle frame extends atan inclined angle with respect to said direction in which said channelblock projects.
 6. The crimping tool according to claim 5 furtherincluding a clevis support mounted to said handle frame, said clevissupport having a pair of ends with said channel block mounted extendingthereacross and wherein said pivot bar is pivotally mountedtherebetween.
 7. The crimping tool according to claim 6 wherein saidlever rod is joined to said crimping nose portion, said crimping noseportion in turn fastened to one end of said pivot bar, said crimpingnose being generally wedge-shaped.